The aim of this work is to compare the logistics of urban light weight delivery by motorcycle and bicycle. To this purpose, a case study in the city of Curitiba, Brazil, was chosen. City planning demands alternative solutions to everyday problems, among which use of urban space and mobility are relevant due to fast and rather chaotic growing. Urban mobility −a complex network comprising a variety of actors and areas; has social, economic and environmental impacts that might be underestimated in planning and implementation of actions. So far, and for the case studied here, urban planning for light weight delivery has not included externalities, but rather focused on technical issues on logistics and urban traffic. For instance, the rates of dead and disability from accidents on this mobility are currently very high. In the present research, two light weight deliveries actually used in Curitiba were compared: motorbikes and bicycles. The analysis is based on the methodology of the eco-socio-economy of organizations. This approach considers the complexity of subsystems linked, and the effectiveness beyond the organization but on the social demands in the urban territory. The use of bicycles was studied using data from EcoBike, analyzed here and compared to the generic case of deliveries by motorbikes. Indicators for accidents (with and without death), fossil energy used, CO2 emissions, and operative costs were obtained and compared. The indicators assessed favour the use of bicycles over motorbikes.
In light of the necessity of reducing motorized road traffic in Europe, above all in city centers, focus is switching more and more to cycle freight. At present there is little research or systematically prepared findings in this area. This paper demonstrates that the use of cycle freight is already widespread, though restricted to larger cities, which have the density necessary to create demand. The existing firms that use cycle freight operate primarily as pure cycle freight operators. The parallel operation of cargo cycles within fleets of otherwise motorized vehicles has, however, been tried successfully on several occasions. The availability of city center hubs that ensure the necessary efficiency is one of the special requirements associated with the use of cargo cycles. Customers still have reservations, although it may be assumed that these reservations are more a case of initial resistance and could be overcome through information and advertising campaigns. In total, it is expected that around a quarter of city center freight transport could be carried by bike. Bike freight will work only if this mode of delivery is given greater consideration in city and transport planning. Initial estimates indicate that the reduction in air and noise pollution created by cycle-based commercial traffic could be quite significant, although systematic analysis is lacking in this area. To date, there have been no studies on the effects of cycle freight on city center traffic.
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Freight movement is essential to the function of metropolitan areas, yet it generates many externalities, including congestion, air pollution, noise, and greenhouse gas emissions. Metropolitan areas around the world are seeking ways to manage urban freight and its impacts. This paper presents results from a comprehensive international survey of urban freight management strategies. Our purpose was to examine the effectiveness of alternative strategies and assess their transferability for broad US implementation. We use three categories to describe urban freight strategies: last mile/first mile deliveries and pickups, environmental mitigation, and trade node strategies. We find that there are many possibilities for better managing urban freight and its impacts including labeling and certification programs, incentive-based voluntary emissions reductions programs, local land use and parking policies, and more stringent national fuel efficiency and emissions standards for heavy duty trucks. More research is needed on intrametropolitan freight movements and on the effectiveness of existing policies and strategies.
The paper provides a review of rail-based schemes which have been introduced in European cities. An in-depth assessment is provided of the scheme based on the use of a MUDC. The case study relates to the distribution of fish food in Rome. The environmental and energy benefits obtainable from the shift from the current road-only scheme to the MUDC scheme are estimated in physical and monetary units. An estimate is provided of the maximum public contribution that would still make the scheme beneficial for society as a whole, obtained as the difference between the social costs of the road-only scheme and those of the MUDC scheme. Also, an assessment is provided of the profitability of the scheme from the operators‟ viewpoint.
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This paper reviews the options available to policy makers in their efforts to reduce the negative impacts of urban freight transport. After providing a summary of the categories of negative impacts that can be targeted together with the specific policy initiatives available, it reviews the actions taken by policy makers across in cities within four countries (UK, Japan, the Netherlands and France). In the case of the UK and Japan attention is focused on a single city as an exemplar of some of the developments. In the case of the Netherlands and France the discussion is wider.
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Urban goods distribution is important for the economy. However urban transport causes traffic, noise and pollution. The European Research project CityLog (part of Framework Programme 7) aims at increasing efficiency in urban distribution by proposing a logistics model based on two types of vehicles and containers solution in the context of parcel delivery. The urban delivery scheme currently consists of a number of vehicles that leave the hub and drive towards the city. The innovative logistics model for urban deliveries introduces a concept which make use of two types of vehicles: a Freight bus which is loaded at the depot with several load units that can carry generic parcels, and a Delivery van which is a light vehicle with high eco-compatible characteristics that make it very suitable to be used in the inner city Each load unit, when transferred from the Freight bus to the Delivery van, replaces the body of the van. These interoperable vehicles and containers form an improved logistics chain, reducing the number of vehicles entering the city, chilometers driven and pollutant emissions. Another source of unnecessary driven chilometers is unsuccessful deliveries when the receiver is not home during the delivery. The Modular BentoBox is the second concept introduced by the project. It allows to obtain a balance between optimisation of logistics and customer's interests by delivering goods to the bentobox, instead that to the customer location. There parcels are stored in the bentobox until the customer picks them up. The Modular BentoBox System introduces the concept of removable modules that is trolleys with various size drawers. These trolleys and their drawers are filled in with parcels at the depot. The carrier transports the trolleys downtown and inserts them into the bentobox. As soon as the customer is notified, the parcel is ready at the bentobox. To access the parcel, the customer enters his special code on a user interface. The Modular BentoBox System can also be provided with a weighting and payment system and used for shipping parcels. The trolleys with shipments are taken back to the depot by the carrier. These CityLog concepts will be implemented and tested in 2012 in three European cities: Berlin, Lyon and Turin.
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Carriers face serious challenges in making their urban freight transport efficient and sustainable. Local authorities claim that many carriers are not innovative and do not cooperate in improving their city logistics operations. There are three solution directions to make urban freight transport more efficient and more sustainable: policy, technology and logistics. Carriers can use logistical and technical solutions. In this paper several best practices and carrierinitiatives are presented that are actually brought in practice (in the Netherlands) to improve city logistics. It depends on the type of carrier, either a regional or functional specialist or a generalist, which solution can be effectively used in the urban freight transport operations.
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For the objectives of this discussion an event based simulation model using ARENA is developed to solidify the merits of moving urban freight by rail and demonstrates that it is a viable alternative to the most popular methods in today’s freight markets. A number of technologies are examined, that can be used in the movement of urban freight by rail and look at case studies which have adopted this very methodology to deliver urban freight. More specifically the model developed is used to analyse the current situation, evaluate alternatives and maximise utilisation of the proposed rail system. The information obtained is put to use by designing a freight system for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, at the very core of which will utilise rail infrastructure. This system aims to be market competitive and to restore faith in transporting urban freight by rail. By doing so, we hope that our results achieve a significant level of usefulness and practicality so that they could be considered when designing future urban freight systems.
Urban freight transportation constitutes both an extremely important and a rather disturbing activity. Increasingly, one observes efforts to measure and control freight movements within city centers. We introduce a possible organizational and technological framework for the integrated management of urban freight transportation and identify important associated planning and operation issues and models. We then describe a formulation for one of these problems, the design of the proposed logistical structure, and discuss algorithmic and implementation issues. Our model city and challenge is Rome.
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